A Kidnapper's Revenge
by Flamingoetsalsa
Summary: Degrassi has been through a lot, but this time a student is taken right from the halls of the school itself! Students and adults not only work on finding the victim and the kidnapper, but also protecting themselves from becoming possible future victims.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: On March 24 the unthinkable happened-a student was kidnapped straight out of the Degrassi halls. Now, everyone is looking for the missing student as well as trying to protect themselves from becoming possible next victims.

XxXxXxXxXxX

"Great practice ladies!" Chantay called out as the power squad practice finally came to an end. Anya immediately brightened, while she loved the power squad with all her heart, all these practices were starting to wear her out. "Remember tomorrow morning, 7 am sharp we're having a quick meeting in the cafeteria!" Chantay yelled as a reminder as the power squad girls gathered their belongings, most already bounding out of the gym.

"7?" Jenna asked. "Isn't that just a bit early?" Chantay gave her a hard look which made Jenna leave the gym even quicker.

"Running this squad with an iron fist," Anya teased as Chantay shoved her belongings into her bag in a mad rush. "Are you trying to win the Kentucky derby or something?"

"No, I'm late for a doctor's appointment, my mom is going to kill me," Chantay grumbled. "I've got to place some paperwork on Mr. Simpson's desk as approval for our first competition and then I've got to lock up the gym," Chantay explained.

"Well, I can do it for you," Anya offered. "I'm in no rush." Chantay looked at Anya gratefully.

"Anya you're a lifesaver you know that?" Chantay asked fishing the keys out of her gym bag and tossing them at Anya. She then took out a manila folder and handed it to Anya. "The smallest key opens Simpson's office, just place the manila folder on top of his desk. The key with the green writing on it is for the gym, turn off the lights and shut all the doors, double check just in case-"

"Chantay, go," Anya laughed. "It'll be fine." Chantay smiled grabbing her things and darting for the gym doors.

"Thanks again Anya, just return the keys to me tomorrow morning! Bye!" Anya smiled to herself as she packed up the rest of her stuff and headed off. She walked over and flicked off the lights in the gym exiting and shutting both of the doors. The lights in the hallway were off, making it difficult, but after trying most of the other keys she found the key that locked the doors. After that was finished she headed down the hallway towards the main office.

"Jeez, creepy much?" She asked herself as she walked along the deserted hallways. It reminded her of this one scary movie she watched where the unsuspecting girl was walking in her school hallway and while it was obvious she was alone she kept hearing this noise and it turned out the murderer was in the school and ended up killing her. Anya felt her heart begin to race just a little at the thought. She reasoned it probably wasn't best to think about a movie where someone got killed who was in a scene similar to the one she was in now.

The main office was empty, as was the rest of the school, which made her feel even odder about being there. She hurried and went to Simpson's office, the door on the far side. She wrestled with the keys, until she found the smallest key and opened the office. She laughed to herself when she saw how messy Simpson's office was. While the rest of the office was in pristine condition, papers and folders lined up neatly, his office was a disaster area. However, it _was_ Mr. Simpson. He was notorious for losing papers and finding them weeks later. His desk was a massive stack of paper and folder and she felt a little nervous about leaving such important paperwork on top. What if the pile fell over and it got shuffled to the bottom? Chantay would probably never forgive her if Mr. Simpson didn't approve the papers for them to go to competition.

_Ring! Ring! _Anya screamed, jumping backwards in alarm until she realized it was her cellphone that had rung. She took a deep breath and then pulled it out of the pocket of her bag.

"Hello?" She answered.

"Where are you?" Holly J demanded. Anya sighed, mentally slapping herself for forgetting that she was supposed to be meeting Holly J and Sav at the Dot after practice. All three of them were assigned to work on a project together, which was lovely since Anya had broken up with Sav, barely talked to Holly J any longer and was still a bit upset over the fact that they had started dating. Thankfully, they had called things off, but it didn't make things any less awkward.

"Sorry, I promised Chantay I'd lock up and drop off some paperwork for Simpson to approve," Anya replied hoping Holly J didn't totally explode.

"Well, you're late and we've got to get started on the project. Sav and I already mapped out the different tasks we each are going to be doing, we need you so we can go over them and coordinate," Holly J explained.

"Okay, I'm leaving Simpson's office right now, be there in ten minutes I swear," Anya said.

"Alright, see you soon, bye," And with that Holly J hung up. Anya shut her phone and tossed it into her bag and quickly placed the folder on Mr. Simpson's desk, turning and running out. She almost forgot to shut and lock the door, but remembered before she skidded out into the hallway. She took forever getting the right key, because she was in such a rush. Finally she was able to lock the door and hurried out into the hallway, walking at a quickened pace. She threw Chantay's keys in her purse and as she looked up she caught sight of a person, moving past the end of the hallway. Anya froze. The school was supposed to be empty.

"Hello?" Anya called out thinking maybe it was just the janitor, although she knew for a fact she had seen the janitor leave earlier before practice had let out. Anya crept forward, swallowing nervously as silence remained as the answer to her question. She glanced around her and then shook her head. She was probably just in such a hurry she _thought_ she had seen someone. She chuckled slightly as she joked it was Holly J come to bite her head off for being late. "Oh god!" Anya yelped the thoughts of Holly J reminding her that if she didn't start running she'd be late and get berated by Holly J even more.

_BAM! _Anya screamed, tripping over her own feet and landing on the floor, her belongings scattering all along the hallway. She sat up, looking up and down the hallway quickly, shaking when she realized she was still alone. She knew she had heard a locker being slammed shut. It had sounded so close and so loud.

"Whose there?" Anya yelled out, although her voice came out quieter than expected and pierced with fear. She waited for a few minutes before she turned and began to collect her belongings. She was just standing up when suddenly she felt something wrap around her neck and pull upwards tightly. She dropped her things back, her hands flying to her neck as she was beginning to get choked.

"Shh," She let out a strangled cry of alarm at the deep male voice that whispered in her ear. She felt a hand gently caress her cheek and she tried hard not to flinch or struggle. "It's Anya, isn't it?" She coughed, the hold on her neck still there and preventing her from breathing. She felt it loosen and she sucked in a deep breath of air before screaming.

She knew no one would be around to hear her. She knew that it was a fruitless attempt at saving herself, but it was all she had. At least, until she felt something connect with the back of her head and everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

"Holly J." Holly J raised her head from her Calculus test to see Mr. Simpson standing in the open doorway of the classroom. "I need to speak with you, you'll have to finish your test later." Holly J merely shrugged gathering up her bag and belongings and handing in her half-finished test to her teacher who took it without question. Out in the hallway she found Sav, Chantay, and Leia were standing with Mr. Simpson as well.

"I was going to ask if this was an emergency student council meeting, but I guess not," Holly J said eying Chantay and Leia scornfully.

"Not now Holly J," Mr. Simpson said sternly. She and the other four exchanged confused glances, Mr. Simpson acting stern was not something any of them were used to. He led them all silently down the hall and into the main office where the secretaries raised their heads and watched them all carefully, something that made Holly J feel a little uncomfortable. Mr. Simpson walked right past his office and down a small hallway and into a large conference room.

Upon entering the conference room the four students found themselves in the presence of two police officers.

"Sir, what is this about?" Leia immediately asked, fear evident in her voice.

"Just listen Leia," Mr. Simpson said shutting the door behind them. One of the police officers, a young man with black hair and blue eyes came forward, a smile on his face.

"I'm Officer Nelson and for the record none of you are in trouble, we're just trying to find some answers," The man, Officer Nelson, explained.

"Answers? Was there a crime here or something?" Sav asked as the Officer shook all of their hands firmly. Officer Nelson looked uncomfortable with the question and awkwardly cleared his throat.

"So there was?" Chantay asked, immediately jumping.

"If there was, don't get too excited, you won't be spreading any gossip at all," Holly J accused and Chantay glared at her.

"Ladies," Officer Nelson said. "Let's stick to the task at hand, shall we?" Holly J and Chantay nodded grudgingly. "How about we all sit down, relax a little?" He took four of the chairs and pulled them out, the four students sitting down. The second officer, a tall woman with light brown hair and green eyes came forward and she and Officer Nelson took the last two chairs that sat opposite the four chairs.

"I'm Officer Tate," The woman introduced and she withdrew from a bag a notepad and a pen. "First question: What are your names?"

"Leia Chang," Leia said hesitantly.

"Chantay Black," Chantay answered.

"Sav Bhandari," Sav said.

"Holly J Sinclair," Holly J finished. Officer Tate scribbled down all four names and then looked up.

"What is your relation to Anya MacPherson?" The question caught all four of them off guard.

"Anya?" Leia gasped. "What did she do?"

"Is she okay? I mean, Anya would never do anything _illegal_," Chantay said.

"Please," Officer Nelson interrupted, raising his voice to be heard. "Just answer the question, we'll explain later."

"Well, we're really good friends," Leia answered.

"We're friends as well, and we're on the power squad together," Chantay explained.

"We're decent friends, we dated on and off for a few years, but we broke up for good a few weeks ago," Sav said, looking uncomfortable as he talked.

"Anya and I were good friends, then I guess, we just drifted apart, but we still talk," Holly J said.

"When was the last time any of you saw or talked to Miss MacPherson?" Officer Tate asked.

"Two days ago, I was sick yesterday," Leia explained.

"During third period yesterday, when we were assigned that project together," Sav mumbled.

"Project?" Officer Tate asked.

"For History, Holly J, Anya, and I were assigned to create a project on Ancient Greece," Sav explained. "We had planned to meet up at The Dot, but Anya never showed," He added.

"At what time did you plan to meet?" Officer Nelson asked.

"Four thirty," Sav said and glanced at Chantay. "After Anya got down with power squad."

"And Miss Black, you mentioned you were on the power squad with Miss MacPherson?" Officer Tate asked.

"Yes, I'm the captain of the squad and as captain it's my job to lock up the gym after practices," Chantay explained. "Except yesterday," She whispered.

"Excuse me?" Officer Tate asked.

"Well, yesterday I was running late for a doctor's appointment and Anya offered to lock up the gym and put some papers on Mr. Simpson's desk for me," Chantay explained.

"What papers would those be?" Officer Nelson asked.

"Papers asking approval for us to go to a competition, Mr. Simpson needed to review them and then check the budget for a bus and everything," Chantay explained.

"Anything else?" Officer Tate asked.

"I thanked her for doing it for me, handed her the keys for the gym and Mr. Simpson's office, and left," Chantay said. Officer Tate nodded, making even more notes in the notepad.

"And Miss Sinclair?" She asked raising her gaze to look at Holly J.

"I was getting impatient waiting for Anya, so I called her, and she told me she was dropping papers off in Mr. Simpson's office and then she'd be at The Dot, but like Sav said, she never showed. I tried calling her a few more times, but didn't get an answer," Holly J explained and Officer Tate nodded, placing the pen down.

"Okay," Chantay said fixing the two officers in her gaze. "Now, will you please tell us why you needed to know this? If something is up with Anya, we want to know," Chantay said.

"Alright then," Officer Nelson said. "Yesterday we got a call from Miss MacPherson's mother, Mrs. MacPherson, at around nine o'clock last night, reporting that her daughter had not come home," Officer Nelson explained. "She informed us that her daughter had told her that she had power squad practice and then would be home around five thirty, but never showed up. They waited, until nine, just in case she got held up for some unseen reason."

"We've had patrols out looking for her all night and early this morning," Officer Nelson continued. "This morning however we got a call from Mr. Simpson who informed us that he found this note sitting on his desk this morning when he arrived," Officer Nelson said pulling out a white sheet of paper and laid it on the table, pushing it over. The four students all crowded around catching sight of what the note said.

_Dear Principal Simpson,_

_ All students say they feel so safe within the halls of school, too bad for Miss MacPherson. I have taken her right from inside your hallways and you will not be getting her back until I get what I want. Another note will explain my demands, until then, tell only the police and maybe Miss MacPherson will escape virtually unscathed. _

_ ~A.T.W._

"W-What does this mean?" Leia asked.

"It means that Anya MacPherson has been officially kidnapped," Officer Tate stated.


	3. Chapter 3

"_Kidnapped_?" Holly J asked in disbelief. "Anya?" Officer Tate and Officer Nelson nodded.

"We're afraid so and the way you describe it places the kidnapping where this A.T.W. says, right here in the halls of Degrassi," Officer Tate explained.

"Who else knows?" Chantay asked softly.

"For now, her parents, the police force, and the staff of the school," Officer Nelson explained. "We're waiting until the next note surfaces before we let the whole community know," He added.

"Why wait?" Sav demanded. "The longer you wait, the longer he has her!"

"We understand that," Officer Tate explained.

"He's threatened to hurt her," Sav continued.

"Sav," Holly J said gently placing her hand on his arm, but he shrugged it off.

"You're just going to sit here and let her-"

"Sav!" Mr. Simpson said interrupting Sav mid-rant.

"Listen Mr. Bhandari, we understand that you all have concerns for Miss MacPherson, but we're doing the best we can," Officer Nelson explained. He opened his mouth to continue, but was interrupted by the ringing of a cellphone that he pulled out of his pocket. "Nelson here," He answered. He listened before nodding. "Alright, we'll be right there." He hung up the cellphone depositing it back into his pocket.

"Was that the chief?" Officer Tate asked as she stood up, putting the notepad and pen into the bag it had come from.

"Yeah, the second note has showed up, right on the MacPherson's front door," Officer Nelson said. The four students watched as the officers quickly gathered their belongings and headed for the door.

"Thank you for your time," Officer Tate said, nodding to Mr. Simpson as the two officers stepped out of the room and disappeared from view. After a few moments of silence, Mr. Simpson cleared his throat.

"Ms. Sauvé is always available," Mr. Simpson said. The four students remained silent. "I'll give you all a few minutes." He closed the door and that was when Chantay let out a choked sob. She leaned forward her head in her hands, Leia gently rubbing her back as she sobbed.

"I gave her the keys," Chantay sobbed. "Her being kidnapped was my fault!"

"Oh Chantay don't think like that," Leia whispered soothingly.

"Why not?" Sav growled angrily. "She _is_ the one that gave Anya the keys, she's the one that left Anya all alone," Sav mumbled.

"Sav!" Holly J hissed.

"I'm sorry, I-I didn't know she would be...," Chantay trailed off breaking into sobs once more.

"Whatever," Sav muttered standing up, grabbing his backpack and storming out of the room. Holly J tried to explain Sav's behavior, but found herself at a loss for words. She grabbed her stuff and hurried after Sav knowing she was better off trying to comfort Sav then Chantay. She entered the main office just in time to see Sav disappear into the hallway and ran past the secretaries and out of the office after him.

"Sav!" Holly J called jogging down the hallway. She sighed in relief when she saw him stop in the middle of the hallway. When she caught up he turned to face her, his sudden movement making her jump. "You didn't have to say that to Chantay, she feels terrible already," Holly J said.

"It's true though!" Sav exclaimed. "Anya's missing because Chantay set her up to be," Sav hissed softly, so they wouldn't be overheard by anyone.

"You make it sound like Chantay is the one who kidnapped her," Holly J said trying to release the tension, but she only got a glare from Sav. "Okay, look I understand where you're coming from, but the same thing might've happened to Anya or Chantay or anyone else, it was just bad luck Anya got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time," Holly J said. "Besides, why are you so upset, I thought you and Anya were exes anyway."

"That doesn't mean I don't care about her," Sav mumbled.

"Care about her like a friend or care about her as in you still love her?" Holly J asked. When Sav didn't answer, only avoided making eye contact, Holly J reasoned it was latter choice. "Sav," Holly J said softly. "They'll find her, she'll be fine."

"And what if she's not?" Sav demanded. "The note said that even if only the police get involved in this she 'maybe will escape virtually unharmed'," He whispered. He closed his eyes, slamming his fist into a locker in frustration.

"Sav, that's what every kidnapper says to scare people into doing what they want, it's a psychological thing," Holly J explained.

"Either way," Sav growled. "Anya's in danger and it seems as if no one is doing anything."

"Officer Nelson said once the second note appears they'll put out an amber alert, the whole entire community will be looking for her and the second note apparently just arrived," Holly J explained.

"So what do we do now?" Sav asked softly.

"We wait," Holly J whispered. "No matter how much it pains us to do so."

Anya shivered, rubbing her virtually bare arms trying to stay warm. She had woken up, a while ago to find herself in what looked like a metal box. A small room, with bare walls, a small square opening at the very top that appeared to be the only way in and out. She was petrified, not knowing where she was, how long she'd been unconscious, who her kidnapper was.

Her stomach growled reminding her that she hadn't eaten anything in whole knows how long. She was also thirsty, but there was nothing for her. She was just in her shorts and tank top that she had been wearing for practice. She shivered again and pulled her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them trying to keep the heat in her body.

She rested her head on her knees, closing her eyes trying not to cry, although she desperately wanted to. She told herself to just picture her friends and family and to tell herself that she'd be alright; just stay positive. The first picture that entered her mind though was Sav. That made her happy and sad.

It reminded her how much she wanted him to be with her, to hold her her and kiss her like he used to. It reminded her of how painful it had been seeing him kiss and hold hands with Holly J, how cold he had been to her recently. Then again, just a week ago when she had spilled her books everywhere in the hallway he had stopped and helped her pick them up and had smiled at her. He had helped her stand up and she had seen him more than once looking at her across the cafeteria, a gaze she always returned, but only briefly; they'd get caught if they held it any longer.

"Hello Anya." With a jolt and a scream she raised her head to see her attacker standing in front of her, although concealed mostly in the shadows so that his face was hidden from her view.

"What do you want with me?" She asked her voice shaking dreadfully.

"Only here to deliver gifts," He replied, placing a metal tray down in front of her. "Water and bread," He said as she inspected from afar the food and water he had given her. "Can't have you starving or dying of thirst now can we?" With that he swiftly stepped back and she watched as he bent down and grabbed a tiny piece of wood and opened a part of the wall, what had to be a door. She reasoned the piece of wood must've been holding it open meaning it could only be opened from the outside. "Have a nice dinner." With that the door slammed shut and Anya was alone once more.

She carefully inched forward until she reached the tray, reaching out hesitantly until her fingers touched the bread. To her surprise it was warm and fresh as compared to the vision of cold and hard bread her mind had pictured. She took a careful bite, her stomach growling in satisfaction as she swallowed taking a few more bites, until finally she wolfed the rest of the slice. She pretty much gulped down the water in seconds, her thirst satisfied for now. She set the glass down on the tray and rubbed her face tiredly. She then looked around at her settings before putting her head in her hands and starting to sob. _'I'm never going to get out of here.'_

By late afternoon, news of Anya's kidnapping was all over the news. Dozens of volunteers and police officers were combing the whole area looking for her. _Or her body_. Holly J shook her head turning her attention away from the television and focusing on her English, although she found it difficult, especially with the news channels having a field day with the news of a young student kidnapped right out of the school's hallways.

_"Tragedy has struck yet again at a school that has before seen just as tough times..."_

_ "Degrassi has yet another event happen that puts it and it's students at risk!"_

_ "Degrassi High School was the scene of the kidnapping of a senior yesterday afternoon..."_

"Oh Holly J," Her mom beckoned hoarsely, still in shock at the whole ordeal. Holly J sighed, rising from her seat at the table and sat down beside her mother on the couch. Her mom had been flipping back and forth between different stations looking to see if any of them had any updates. The station she was on now, was showing a picture of Anya with the anchor's voice in the background.

_"Eighteen year old Anya MacPherson was kidnapped yesterday afternoon straight out of the hallways of Degrassi High School, something that has parents and staff shocked and frightened." _

"Mom do we have to watch this?" Holly J asked angrily. Mrs. Sinclair glanced at her daughter and sympathetically stroked her hair.

"Oh sweetie, I'm so sorry about Anya, I know you two were good friends," Her mother whispered. Holly J nodded mutely, unable to find any words to express her true feelings. She felt confused and frightened and completely overwhelmed with knowing that a good friend of hers was kidnapped and possibly gone forever.

"I think I'm going to go to The Dot, get a latte," Holly J said standing up and already gathering her jacket.

"Okay, just please be careful," Her mother said as Holly J opened the door.

"Always," Holly J replied. She pulled out her cellphone and dialed Fiona's number.

"Hello?" Fiona answered.

"Meet me at The Dot?" Holly J asked.

"Can't, I'm flying out to New York, taking an early weekend," Fiona said. "I'm catching a taxi to the airport in an hour."

"Oh, alright," Holly J said. "Have fun then and see you Monday."

"See ya!" Fiona cheerfully said hanging up moments later. Holly J sighed, throwing her phone into her purse and carrying on.

Ten minutes later she stepped into The Dot smiling as she walked up to the counter waiting as Peter handed off an order to a waiting customer.

"Hey Holly J," Peter greeted.

"Hey Pete, the usual please," Holly J said.

"For here or to go?" Peter asked.

"For here," Holly J said. "Though doesn't seem like there's much room." The Dot was full, most of the customers students, most of their eyes glued to the TV hanging in the corner of the shop. The channel was running a story on Anya's disappearance.

"Been like this ever since the story started," Peter said nodding at the TV. "Can't blame people though, if someone I was going to school with went missing, I'd be checking out the news too." He came over and placed the cup down in front of Holly J who took a seat at the counter, resting her elbow on the counter staring blankly at the TV.

"It's not like anything has changed in the last hour though," Holly J said taking a sip of the latte silently savoring the delicious taste of the coffee. "It's just so...irritating, waiting and not knowing," She said. Peter nodded thoughtfully.

"I see what you mean." He then looked up, fixing Holly J in his gaze. "How are you holding up?" Holly J sighed.

"Fine I guess," She answered. "Although I'm starting to feel like Sav, wanting to do something and tear someone apart in the process."

"What do you mean?" Peter asked.

"Some police officers swung by school earlier and I guess Simpson told him the closest people to Anya. It was Sav, Leia, Chantay, and myself and they asked us and then told us she was missing. Sav was furious," Holly J explained.

"I thought they broke up though," Peter said.

"They did, but I think he still likes her," Holly J explained. Peter opened his mouth to say more, but shut it as Sav sat down beside Holly J.

"Hey man," Peter greeted.

"A latte Pete," Sav whispered.

"Sure thing," Peter answered getting to work on the drink.

"I understand how you feel now," Holly J murmured taking a sip of her drink. Sav didn't answer her or even look at her. "Helpless and angry," She continued. "It really sucks."

"My mom wants me to stop by Anya's house," Sav whispered hoarsely. "She baked this cake thing, wants me to drop it off and offer apologies and everything."

"Oh, well that's nice," Holly J said. Peter then placed Sav's drink in front of him and walked off to clean up the machine. Sav remained silent for a few minutes, occasionally taking sips of his latte.

"Come with me," Sav whispered suddenly. His words caught Holly J off guard and she looked at him.

"What?" She asked.

"If I go over there alone...I just can't, but if you come with me-" Sav stopped talking and just looked at Holly J. He looked so desperate and Holly J couldn't help herself and nodded.

"Fine," She whispered and Sav smiled.

"We'll catch you later Pete!" Sav called as he placed a ten down on the counter and signaled for Holly J to follow him.

"Your parents let you borrow the truck?" Holly J asked skeptically as she climbed into the passengers seat.

"Yeah, surprised me too," Sav said as they drove off. They rode in silence, until finally Sav pulled up to the curb a few houses down from Anya's house. Holly J didn't say anything just climbed out and waited as Sav grabbed the dish his mother had prepared for the MacPherson's from the backseat.

"What exactly is it?" Holly J asked, indicating the cake thing.

"Mom said it was some old family recipe, I trust her though, she's actually a good cook," Sav said.

"Let's hope so, Anya's parents have a child missing we don't want to poison them too," Holly J said and Sav chuckled. When they got to Anya's house they were relieved to find there were no reporters or anything swarming the area, only a single police car. They walked up to the front door and knocked. A few seconds later the door opened to reveal none other than Officer Tate.

"Miss Sinclair, Mr. Bhandari," Officer Tate said addressing them. "May I ask your business here?"

"We just came to drop this off for the MacPherson's," Sav explained indicating the dish. Officer Tate looked sympathetic and nodded.

"Come in," She invited. "They're in the living room." Holly J, only vaguely remembering being in the house let Sav lead the way into the living, where a second, unfamiliar police officer sat. Mr. and Mrs. MacPherson were sitting on the couch talking softly to the other police officer. They stopped and looked up as Sav and holly J entered.

"Sav, Holly J what a surprise," Mrs. MacPherson exclaimed flashing them a weak smile.

"My mom made this for you both," Sav said holding out the dish.

"Oh how thoughtful of her," Mrs. MacPherson said. "I'll just go put this in the kitchen." As she passed with the dish, Holly J noticed how red her eyes had been, obviously from crying. Mr. MacPherson didn't look any better.

"How have you both been? Haven't seen either of you around in a while," He commented.

"We've been fine," Holly J answered. Suddenly there was a loud crash from the kitchen. Mr. MacPherson, Sav, Holly J, Officer Tate, and the second officer rushed to the kitchen to find Mrs. MacPherson sitting on the floor of the kitchen sobbing, piece of glass laying around her mixed with what was left of the dish Sav's mom had prepared. Mr. MacPherson instantly moved and put his arm around her, holding her close as she cried.

"Why don't you two leave now," Officer Tate suggested quietly. Sav and Holly J nodded and let themselves out. They walked in silence back to the car and got inside. It wasn't until they were back on the main road driving that Sav finally spoke.

"They've just got to find her Holly J," He whispered. Laying her hand on top of his Holly J took a deep breath glancing over at him, but not saying anything. There was nothing she _could_ say, because she felt just as desperate to get her friend back.

**A/N: Thanks to all those who review! **


	4. Chapter 4

Alice Tate rubbed her tired eyes as she took out yet another surveillance video they had taken from the school. Luckily the school had cameras all over the parking lot, but only so much video could fit on a CD so after downloading all the video onto multiple discs, Alice had set to work. As she popped in what seemed like the hundredth disc her partner entered the room she was in.

"Did you get anything?" Alice asked curiously as her partner flopped down in a chair opposite her.

"None of her teammates noticed anyone or anything suspicious," Drew Nelson replied irritably. "The best thing we got was 'a silver car' which narrows it down significantly," He added sarcastically.

"They were all heading home after a practice, they aren't all going to be surveying the parking lot and picking out cars with creepy men in them," Alice pointed out as she turned her attention back to her laptop.

"How about you?" Drew asked.

"There are millions of tapes," Alice said nodding to the two piles on either side of her computer. Unfortunately for her the larger pile was the pile of videos she hadn't look at yet.

"Good luck with that," Drew said as the sound of a ringing phone led him out of the room. Alice sighed clicking the play button on the video and focused on finding the supposed 'silver car'.

* * *

"Get dressed you bitch," The man hissed. Anya shakily pulled her clothes back onto her body. Tears were pouring down her face and she was trying hard not to let a sound escape her mouth. That was the last thing she needed. An hour ago it seemed like the man had come and fetched Anya and made her...well, let's just say her experience wasn't anything like it was on prom night.

"W-What now?" She asked softly. The man smiled at her and staggered over to her. She held her breath, trying to ignore the heavy smell of alcohol that surrounded him and had made her gag throughout the whole ordeal. The man smiled, sloppily bringing his fingers down Anya's cheek, although in his drunken state he just ran them down the side of her face and then across her lips. He bent over pressing his lips to her neck.

"Come on sweeting," He purred running his hands up and down her arms, begging for a reaction. Anya closed her eyes stifling more sobs as she allowed him to kiss her neck, nibbling gently now and again. In any other case she would've fought him, but this was _his_ territory. Even drunk he was in a place that she was unfamiliar with and could hurt her badly if she angered him.

"What, nervous are we?" He asked, his alcohol-scented breath hitting her in a nauseating wave. He smiled kissing her neck once more before drawing away. "Now you wait right there sweetie." With that he staggered out of the dirty room, slamming the door behind him. She could hear his footsteps going down the stairs and she rushed to the only window in the room. She drew back the curtains, her hands shaking as she undid the latch on the window and tried to work it open.

"Come on, come on," She whispered in frustration as the window barely budged. She crouched down, bracing herself against the window and pushing up with all her weight, gasping and struggling, until finally the window gave way and slid open. She sighed in relief and started to climb out. She had her leg over the edge of the window and resting on the small bit of roof under the window when she gave a pained yelp. With an angry roar, the man, pulled her back into the room and flung her onto the bed.

"Trying to escape were you?" He yelled angrily. Anya vehemently shook her head, even though if was an obvious lie.

"N-Never," She stuttered. "J-Just airing out t-t-the room!" The man gave a roar chucking his half-full alcohol bottle at her. She ducked, flinching as it shattered on the wall behind her. She watched, tears still rolling down her cheeks, as the man shut the window and latched it again, drawing the curtains. He rounded on her, marching over and grabbed her by the hair and flung her forward and into the dresser. She winced and slid to the floor as items that had been resting on top of the dresser fell around her, some hitting her.

"I'll teach you to try to run!" He yelled. He charged at her, but she moved, allowing him to slam head first into the dresser. "STAND STILL!" He roared, charging again. She crawled out of the wall as he rammed into the wall. She jumped, scrambling over the bed and darted to the window. She fidgeted with the latch, but he was quicker, clearing the room in a few steps and grabbed her by the arm. He stormed towards the door, moving fast and ending up dragging her. Once at the top of the stairs he pushed her forward, releasing her arm and allowing to fall straight down the stairs.

She rolled and crashed, crying out and screaming, until she was tossed into the wall opposite the bottom most steps. She lay there, sobbing and crying as her body screamed in pain. She could still move, so she didn't think anything was actually broken, but she was definitely going to be bruised. Thundering footsteps alerted her to his descent down the staircase and she raised her head and he reached down, seizing her by the hair and dragging her to her feet. She yelped in pain at the sudden movement and he growled shoving her roughly into the wall.

"Try and escape again," He hissed in her ear. "And I _will _kill you." He opened a second door and once more roughly shoved her down some stairs, thank god, there were only a handful. She landed on cold ground and looked at her surroundings suspecting herself to be in the basement of this man's home. "Have a nice night sweeting." Once the door was shut she heard it being locked and then footsteps as he walked away. For a few minutes she lay on the ground, her body aching and her throat raw from crying and screaming. With nothing better to do, she curled into a ball and continued to cry, just wishing for this nightmare to be over.

* * *

Sav didn't really know what he was doing, but after school he had just gotten into his car and drove. The place he ended up was the police station. Part of him wasn't surprised; he was so curious as of late. Anya's case was too important for him to just let slip to the back of his mind. He sat in his car and watched the front doors of the police station battling with himself on whether to leave or go inside.

A minute later he was walking into the police station which was quiet with the occasional sound of a ringing phone or shuffling papers. He looked around the area his eyes drifting over plenty of desks stacked high with folders and papers, some with officers sitting behind them scribbling away at reports or just sitting empty, waiting for the person who occupied the desk to return from patrol or come in for work.

"Excuse me?" A soft voice broke him out of his thoughts. He turned and a saw an older woman sitting a desk off to the side. Unlike the other desks in the station her desk was clear and only held a few objects; her computer, a coffee mug, some pens and pencils, a notepad, and the phone. "May I help you?" She asked.

"Uh...," Sav trailed off looking around. "I'm looking for Officer Nelson or Officer Tate," He said quickly. "Are they in?"

"Yes, they're in, do you have an appointment?" She asked him as her gaze bore into him, scrutinizing him.

"No," Sav answered softly, shuffling in place nervously. This lady was seriously starting to creep him out.

"Then you should leave, they're very busy with an important case," The lady said coldly her gaze flickering over to the door.

"Yeah I know Anya's case...is it impossible to just talk to them, for a minute?" He persisted.

"If you want any information about the case, you won't get it," She replied. "Only those working on the case get any information."

"Then I'll work on the case," Sav said quickly and the lady snorted.

"You'd have to be a police officer to do that," She replied.

"What about the volunteers, don't they get to learn anything?" Sav demanded.

"Volunteers only help with searches," The lady replied. "Now unless you have a tip or want to make an appointment for a later date then I suggest you leave." Defeated, Sav turned towards the door.

"Wait a minute!" He stopped and looked over his shoulder, hope flickering in his chest as he saw Officer Nelson walking towards him.

"Drew-" The woman at the desk began.

"It's okay Juliette, the kid's with me," Officer Nelson said smiling weakly at Sav. The woman named Juliette pursed her lip, but didn't object and turned her attention away. "Come with me." Sav obediently followed Officer Nelson past all the desks avoiding the eye contact of any of the other officers that happened to glance up at him and was led into a small conference room where Officer Tate sat.

"Mr. Bhandari," Officer Tate said in surprise as he entered, Officer Nelson shutting the door behind him. "Is everything alright?"

"Uh...well besides the whole Anya thing, yeah," Sav said awkwardly.

"Then why are you-"

"He wants information." Sav and Officer Tate looked at Officer Nelson as he spoke. He was leaning up against the door, staring at nothing in particular. He blinked and raised his gaze and let it rest on Sav. "Isn't that right?" Sav looked between the two officers feeling more stupid than ever, but knew lying wouldn't do him any good.

"Yeah, I really do," Sav admitted and Officer Nelson smirked.

"I always have such a great intuition when it comes to things like this," He said as he left his spot at the door and walked over to sit down. He nodded to the chair beside his own and Sav carefully sat down.

"I realize you're both busy of course," Sav explained in a rush. "But I just can't Anya out of my mind. I barely get any sleep at night because I keep having nightmares of all the possible things that could be happening to her and I-I guess I'm just trying to say that if I knew about anything that maybe it might ease my mind a bit." Sav looked up after he finished talking and found the two police officers staring at him blankly. He took this as a sign to leave and stood up.

"No, Sav, sit down," Officer Tate said gently. Sav looked at her for a minute before he obeyed her and sat back down.

"The thing you must understand is that when this guy kidnapped Miss MacPherson he left barely anything for us to follow," Officer Nelson explained. "We can't find any evidence of fingerprints and any other evidence the janitors would've just cleaned up that morning not really realizing it was a crime scene." Sav nodded; this news wasn't making him feel better, but at least they were giving him the bare truth.

"What about the notes?" Sav asked.

"The first note you saw, it didn't give us any clues and neither did the second one," Officer Tate explained. She reached behind her and set a plastic evidence bag down in front of Sav. Inside was the second note.

_The girl is still alive...for now. Good luck finding either of us in time. _

_~A.T.W._

Sav sat in stunned silence, reading over the note until finally every single word, every letter, was ingrained in his mind, burning an everlasting image.

"So what you're saying is you have nothing?" Sav asked, his voice cracking on the last word. The small hope that had been inside him was put out like putting out a candle, there and then gone in an instant. Officer Nelson opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by Officer Tate's shout of triumph.

"What?" Officer Nelson demanded.

"As clear as day!" Officer Tate said excitedly. She grabbed a notepad on the table behind her and worked furiously on the computer, mumbling quietly to herself.

"ALICE!" Officer Nelson thundered impatiently. Officer Tate scribbled down something on the notepad and ripped the piece of paper and slid it over to Officer Nelson.

"We got a license plate," Officer Tate smiled. Sav side glanced at the piece of paper and sure enough there were a group of letters and numbers written in large print.

_R4T5NX_

* * *

Another chapter! Yay! :'( Poor Anya though! It was hard to write that since I love her so much.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sory for the really long wait...school started and I was just kind of stressed. :P Anyway, here's the next chapter! Another update should happen this week, I PROMISE!**

Officer Tate parked in front of the house and sighed. The information they had collected had led them to this house, but her logic told her that they would find nothing here.

The house looked like something out of those Suzy Homemaker magazines. The typical two story house, painted a white color with vibrantly green grass, a garden bordering the house with different colored flowers, a small pathway winding from the gravel driveway up to the front door, and a white picket fence.

"All that's missing is a mom, dad, two kids, and a dog running around the yard yapping like crazy," Alice mumbled. Officer Nelson cracked a tiny smile.

"Don't judge a book by it's cover Alice," He reminded her as they both climbed out of the vehicle. They walked side by side up the pathway until they reached the front door. Alice rapped on it and they both patiently waited until the door swung open. A middle-aged woman with curly brown hair stood before them her eyes flickering back and forth nervously.

"May I help you?" She asked. Both Alice and Drew showed her their badges.

"Ma'am I'm Officer Nelson and this is my partner Officer Tate," Drew said. "We're looking for a Mrs. Woods." The woman looked a bit confused.

"I don't know what you're here for, but there is no possible way my mother did anything," The woman said firmly.

"Please ma'am, we're not saying she did anything, at the moment we just need to ask her a few questions," Alice explained. The woman glanced over her shoulder before she opened the door wider.

"Fine, but don't over excite her," The woman instructed. She waited until Officer Nelson and Officer Tate were inside before shutting the door and leading them into a room immediately off to their right. It was a living room, with a large window facing outside into the front yard, but at the moment the drapes were drawn closed. There was a large bookcase along one wall, and a couch placed in the center with a white coffee table in front of it. Pictures of pleasant sceneries adorned the walls and finally beside the window in a large white wicker chair sat an old woman who was squinting at a small book that she held in her hands. "Mom," The woman said softly walking over and placing her hand on the older woman's shoulder.

"Yes?" The woman raised her head and instantly caught sight of Alice and Drew standing in the doorway. A large smile broke across her face. "We have guests? How wonderful," The woman said.

"Mom, they're the police," The woman said.

"So? They're still guests," The older woman said still not taking her eyes off of Alice and Drew. "Please, come, sit," The woman invited. Alice and Drew looked at the younger woman who gave them a small nod. They crossed the room and both sat down on the couch.

"Jessie, be a dear and fetch us something to drink," The older woman said. The younger woman turned to the officers.

"I'm fine, but thank you," Alice said.

"Same," Drew added.

"A green tea with lemon for me," The woman said. Jessie nodded and left the room.

"Mrs. Woods, we were wondering if we could ask you a few questions," Drew started.

"Of course," Mrs. Woods said closing the book and placing it on the coffee table. Alice carefully placed a folder on the coffee table and pulled out a picture from inside handing it over to Drew.

"Mrs. Woods, this is a picture of a girl who was abducted about two weeks ago," Officer Nelson explained as the old woman looked at the picture.

"What a pretty girl," Mrs. Woods whispered her index finger tracing the image of Anya closely. "Such a shame she was abducted."

"Yes, but we're starting to find more and more evidence to help find her," Officer Tate explained.

"Good for you," Mrs. Woods said handing back Anya's picture.

"Mrs. Woods, do you recognize this car?" Officer Nelson asked, now holding a picture of the silver car sitting in the Degrassi High School parking lot. Mrs. Woods stared carefully at the photo before raising her eyes.

"That's my car...," Mrs. Woods said softly.

"It is," Officer Nelson confirmed. "Officer Tate and I were wondering if you could explain why it _was_ at the crime scene," Officer Nelson said. Mrs. Woods' eyes were still firmly fixed upon the image of her car and she slowly closed her eyes and shook her head.

"The only thing I can tell you is that the last time I saw that car was three months ago," Mrs. Woods stated.

"Three months?" Officer Tate questioned.

"Yes," Mrs. Woods said. "You see Jessie is my daughter, but I also have a son, Aaron."

"His full name?" Officer Tate asked.

"Aaron Theodore Woods," Mrs. Woods stated. Alice scribbled down the name.

"Tell us about him," Officer Nelson said.

"He was my first born and from a young age he was always a troublemaker," Mrs. Woods explained. "At first I thought nothing of it, all boys are a handful at a young age, right?" Mrs. Woods sighed. "I only started to get really concerned about his behavior when he turned 16, and he started getting into trouble with the police," Mrs. Woods added. "It began becoming a routine thing for him to go out and later be dragged home by police or for me to get a call from the station that he was being held in a cell and needed to be picked up. Then there came one day when he left and never came back...no note, no phone call, nothing. The police never called to tell me he had been arrested, never brought him to the door sternly telling me about his most recent crime, no. He was just gone."

"But he did come back?" Officer Tate asked.

"Well of course," Mrs. Woods scoffed. "The boy had dropped out of high school, had no money, had no place to live...I knew he'd have to come back and he did about two years later, crying and telling me he wanted a new life and wanted to start over."

"And what did you do?" Officer Tate asked.

"What could I say? No? As his mother I felt it was best that he had admitted he wanted to change, so we got him his GED, he got a job at the local grocery store and life just went on the way it normally would have," Mrs. Woods explained.

"How long did this go on for?" Officer Nelson asked.

"A good five years at least," Mrs. Woods answered. "I was starting to really believe Aaron had turned over a new leaf when it started all over again."

"What started again?" Officer Tate inquired.

"In high school Aaron had dabbled a little into experimentation with drugs and soon I found out he'd been doing some drugs again. It wasn't long before he got fired from work and things just spiraled out of control again. He was again being caught by police, but this time I knew I had to do something. I checked him into a rehabilitation clinic in Ottawa, now that was probably three years ago. After his stay he came home a changed boy. He got another job working as a mechanic's assistant, took online college courses, bought his own apartment."

"Now you say you haven't seen the car for three months, what is the story behind that?" Officer Nelson asked.

"Well, Aaron was studying to be an engineer and he said he found a great intern program, but it was in Quebec and he'd need the car for a few months. I told him as long as he didn't get into any trouble I had no problem with it. Three months ago, he packed his things, put them in the car and left. Haven't heard or seen him since," Mrs. Woods said. As Officer Nelson wrote down some notes, Officer Tate was quick to notice the tears welling in Mrs. Woods' eyes.

"Okay, that sounds like everything we need," Officer Nelson said standing up. Officer Tate began to pick up the pictures and place them back in the file.

"Please." Both officers paused and looked at Mrs. Woods who was obviously fighting the tears. "Is Aaron the one who kidnapped that girl?" Officer Tate and Officer Nelson exchanged looks, uncertain if they could divulge anything.

"At the moment all evidence is pointing to him, but he is innocent until proven guilty," Officer Tate said. Mrs. Woods looked horrified, but wiped her eyes and put on a faint smile.

"Thank you, take care both of you," Mrs. Woods said. Bidding goodbye Officer Nelson and Officer Tate left the house and walked back out to the car.

"You don't really think Aaron Woods is innocent do you?" Officer Nelson asked as they got into the car.

"No," Officer Tate sighed. "But, I couldn't tell her that." Officer Nelson nodded.

"At least we know exactly who A.T.W. is now," Officer Nelson said.

"But we have no idea where to find him. His mom thinks he is in Quebec and since he has a car he could've taken Anya anywhere, he's had two weeks to get away!"

"We have the license plate, it'll be easy to send around, we'll find him and Anya," Officer Nelson said confidently. Officer Tate just nodded as they pulled out and drove back towards the station.

* * *

I watched the two officers get into their car and pull out of the driveway and leave. I sighed shakily as I tossed in one of the lemon slices into the cup and carried it out to mom.

"Here you go mom," I said. She looked up and smiled as I placed her favorite drink on the coffee table in front of her.

"Thank you Jessie, you're such a wonderful girl," Mom said. I smiled and glanced at the clock on the wall. 2:18.

"Hey Mom, I've got to run to the store, we're almost out of green tea and I've got some other things to pick up for dinner tonight," I said.

"Alright, don't be too long though, I'm kind of tired," Mom answered.

"I won't be long," I affirmed. I kissed her goodbye and then quickly left.

An hour later I was pulling up to a large yellow house, with a silver car parked in front. I parked beside it and got out jogging up to the front door and knocking on the door firmly, glancing around nervously. When the door swung open and a tall man stood in front of me I lost it. I grabbed him and shoved him inside, slamming the door shut behind me.

"YOU IDIOT!" I screeched. "HOW COULD YOU USE MOM'S CAR TO KIDNAP THE GIRL! HOW?" I screamed.

"Jessie calm down," He growled trying to pry my hands off of him.

"AARON, ARE YOU REALLY THAT STUPID?" I yelled. My older brother just glared at me, before finally prying my hands off of him. He shoved me backwards and stormed out of the entrance hall and into the living room, which was a mess.

"Calm down before you talk to me," Aaron growled. As angry as I was with his stupid behavior, I knew he was right. Yelling at him wouldn't get either of us out of this situation. I took a deep breath before beginning again.

"The police got a picture of the car from the school parking lot. They have a license plate number and everything and they just came to the house," I explained. Aaron looked at me in shock.

"They WHAT?" He roared.

"They just interviewed mom, she didn't tell them anything more than your oh-so tragic past and how you took the car three months ago and went to Quebec," I replied.

"Leave it to mom to be oblivious about everything," Aaron scoffed.

"She's aging, just be glad she's not as a sharp as she used to be or she would've figured this out ages ago," I explained. "You not being in Quebec, the plans to get some more money, kidnapping the girl," I paused. "The last one she might be just a little suspicious about though."

"Whatever, it's not like she has any idea where I am or that I actually did anything," Aaron said.

"The police are getting more evidence and clues Aaron," I said softly. "Kill the girl and dump her body or actually start going through with the plans," I hissed. "It's been nearly two weeks for god's sake!"

"I'm having some trouble finding a spot to place the letter," Aaron snapped.

"Put it where you put the second one, right on the MacPherson's front door!" I replied.

"The police are swarming around that place like flies...I could never get close enough," Aaron pointed out.

"Then mail it to them," I said.

"What if they think it's just a joke?" Aaron asked. I looked around the room carefully and then spotted a pair of scissors sitting on the table. I grabbed them and turned back to face Aaron.

"Take me to her," I demanded. I followed Aaron out of the living room and into the hallway to the basement door. He took a key out of his pocket and unlocked the door. I pushed past him and walked down the stairs, wrinkling my nose at the damp, almost moldy smell. I reached my hand up and pulled on the switch and a single, dim light bulb turned on bathing most of the basement in it's light. Sitting pressed into the corner sat the girl, her clothes dirty from wearing them so long. There were scratches and bruises along her arms and legs and some on her face. She sat in an almost fetal position, cradling her wrist.

"W-Who are you?" Her voice was cracked and strained, but still full of pure fear. Part of me felt horrified at what my brother had done in a mere two weeks, but then again, another part of me was glad it was her. My brother had told me he picked his victims for a reason; they had money. She was a rich, spoiled brat and until Aaron and myself had received the money we were going to demand, she would be our prisoner.

I walked over to her and crouched down in front of her, staring into her blue eyes that would stay on me before flickering over to watch Aaron presumably. I carefully reached over and grabbed a lock of her hair and pulled it forward, using the scissors to snip off at least half of the strand. I then stared at her carefully before running my fingers along her dirty and scratched up face.

"No so pretty anymore, are you?" I asked softly before standing up and walking away. Aaron turned and walked up the steps, at the bottom I turned and stared back at Anya and sighed before reaching up and turning off the light, allowing the basement to become flooded in darkness once more.


	6. Chapter 6

Mary MacPherson woke up feeling hopeful. The police had told her they think they may have found the person that kidnapped Anya. It was a step in the right direction, a small step, but a step nonetheless. Daniel was off to work, so it was just Mary alone in the house.

As she came downstairs she found the kitchen to be an absolute mess. With everything going on she hadn't bothered to clean that much, but now that things were falling into place and Mary was in an extremely good mood it was the least she could do. The first thing she tackled was the dishes that had started to pile in the sink already, but that was partially her fault as she insisted on feeding the officers that were on duty at their house every night.

As she dried her hands she turned to the kitchen table which was piled with papers and mail. The mail was always brought in and was waiting for her on the table. She shifted through it quickly, throwing bills in one pile, junk in another. Until, of course, she came upon the one on the bottom of the pile.

It was written in very pretty cursive handwriting, addressed to the MacPherson family. Mary shrugged and opened it up. Inside was a letter.

_You want her. We want cash. _

_$550,000 is our demand. Get it by Friday or the girl dies._

_And just so our demands are met...look in the envelope._

With shaky hands Mary opened the envelope and pulled out a thick piece of dark material. It was tied together with a small piece of string. It was soft on her fingers and a beautiful color of velvet that reminded her of An-

Mary gasped, dropping the items from her hand. She shook her hand as if she had just burned it and let out a strangled scream and then promptly fainted.

X~X~X~X

Sav felt a shiver run down his spine as he held the strand of hair in his hands. His stomach was clenched in a tight knot as he looked up at Officer Tate.

"A-Anya?" He asked.

Officer Tate nodded. "There was a letter, they're demanding money." Sav sighed and shook his head.

"What do we do now?" Sav asked.

"_We_ do nothing, the police have officially begun putting out a warrant for the arrest of this guy," Officer Nelson said, entering the room. He laid down a poster that depicted the mug shot of Aaron Woods, the man they suspected in being the kidnapper. Sav stared at the guys face, anger bubbling inside him.

"I thought you said the guy was in Quebec?" Sav said.

"That's what we thought," Officer Nelson. "But there is no record of anyone by the name of Aaron Woods coming in or going out of the area."

"Well...he could be using a fake I.D. or something!" Sav exclaimed.

"We know Sav," Officer Tate said gently. "They've got their officers on the lookout for anyone who may or may not resemble Aaron Woods and if they find a match then hooray, if not, well, then we know he's still in the area."

"That's all you're going to do?" Sav demanded angrily.

"Sav, for right now, that's all we _can_ do." Sav huffed angrily, but could do nothing else himself. He bid goodbye to the officers and quickly left the station. He climbed behind the wheel of his car and let out an furious yell. The person climbing out of the car beside his flinched and scurried into the station. Sav groaned and pulled out of the parking lot quickly, not wanting to get questioned by any officers the person might report him too.

He drove for two hours before finally he stopped. He looked out his window and sighed, realizing he'd driven himself over to the MacPherson's house. He'd heard about how Anya's mom had been the one to find the letter and the lock of hair. He shuddered to think of how hard that must've been. If it wasn't bad enough that her daughter was missing she had to find a part of her daughter and a demand for money.

Sav looked at Anya's house sadly, remembering the times he'd spent there with Anya before they'd broken up again and again. A sudden feeling of guilt washed over him at that, he'd loved Anya, he knew he had, yet they had done nothing but break up and then get back together only to break up again. Their fourth and final one had convinced Sav they weren't meant for each other so he'd stopped going after her and she'd done the same.

But sitting here, outside her house, without her...not knowing she was even alive. As cliché as it sounded, it really did put things into perspective. He knew that he'd been restless since her kidnapping, maybe it all wasn't just because he cared about her on a platonic level, but maybe more of a, 'If-anything-happened-to-you-I-don't-know-what-I-would-do-with-myself' level.

He lifted his head and wiped at his eyes, a bit shocked to find them a little watery. He groaned, he was getting soft now. All these feelings and thoughts just consuming him suddenly. He wiped at his eyes and let his gaze slide over to Anya's house once more and instantly spotted a person standing at the MacPherson's mailbox.

The person was a woman with curly brown hair pinned up in a ponytail. She was glancing over her shoulders cautiously, a sign that she was making sure she wasn't being watched. She glanced into the mailbox and then carefully took an envelope out of her pocket and stuffed it inside, before turning on her heel and marching back to her car. Sav was no genius, but he knew suspicious behavior when he saw it and this woman just screamed suspicious. He knew he shouldn't, this was a _police_ investigation. He would be in so much trouble if he got involved, but he couldn't just let this go.

As soon as the woman was half-way down the road, Sav started his truck and drove after her.

X~X~X~X

Anya fingered the piece of hair the woman had cut. It felt so freakishly short as she ran her fingers through it, wishing immediately for the whole strand to be there. She felt so stupid for having just sat there while the woman had approached her with a pair of scissors. She could've have the intent of stabbing her and Anya had just there, frozen like an idiot!

She had taken to not crouching in her corner anymore. She was just too restless, especially with the need to know what they planned to do with her hair. The logical part of her brain said it was a piece of her that they would send to convince her parents to do something, but what?

What did her family have that they wanted so badly? She racked her brain, pacing back and forth in the darkened basement thinking about everything her family owned, every person her parents had introduced her to as family, even the aging family trees she'd mapped out in eighth grade as a school project.

Nothing.

She couldn't think of a single thing that was actually valuable to her family. She had no famous relatives that they were trying to get too. She guessed that it could be a family thing, maybe one of her distant uncles had gotten in trouble with these guys and owed them some serious money.

But, no. She only had one uncle and he lived in the middle of nowhere in Tennessee, caring for hundreds of animals and acres of corn and wheat fields. He wouldn't have gotten himself mixed up in a mafia-like mess. Her mind had jumped to her parents, but she knew that her parents tell her everything and anything. They'd been honest with her about her mother's cancer, so wouldn't they be honest if they were being targeted for some reason?

She sighed, her head snapping up at the sound of the floorboards creaking above her. She hesitated, waiting to hear the pounding of the footsteps, the demands of the guy who'd kidnapped her to follow him upstairs, to do whatever he told her.

She closed her eyes, willing the tears of grief and horror to just go away. She had at least admitted to herself that he was raping her, but she couldn't harbor on that. She needed instead to think of a plan, some way to get out of this hellhole.

A car started.

Anya's heart jumped up into her throat. She'd heard cars start before, but it always meant someone else arriving, she couldn't remember a time when she'd been left _alone _in the house. She waited until the rumble of the car on the gravel drive had ended and ran to the stairs, stumbling in her eagerness to get up them. She tried the door, but it was locked. She tried to slam her shoulder against it, but it wouldn't budge.

"Come on!" Anya cried desperately. She started to run her fingers through her hair and then they got caught on something. She tugged it out of her greasy and snarled hair and felt like her whle world had just gotten fifty times better. A bobby pin, one that must've been hiding in her hair from when she'd used it during practice to hold her hair up, was resting in the palm of her hand. She sobbed in relief, taking to crouching and fitting the bobby pin into the lock. She wiggled and jerked until with a cry of relief there was a _click!_

She turned the knob and the door swung open. She crept out of the basement, cautiously, not even daring to be reckless, not this close to freedom. Her eyes were hurting from the sudden increase of light, but she ignored it and went down the hallway and emerged into the living room. There were a large set of windows with curtains drawn over them. Anya wrinkled her nose at the horrid smell that was permeating from everything and the disgusting mess of pizza boxes and fast food bags littering the floor. She went to the window and peeked outside. The area around the house was completely empty, not a car in sight. She went for the front door, happy to find that it was unlocked. She went outside, a smile creeping onto her face as wind whipped her face.

"Thank you," Anya cried happily to no one in particular. "THANK YOU!" She hurriedly raced down the front steps and stumbled down the driveway. They couldn't honestly just live all alone on this road. She ran, feeling exhausted and weak, but ignored her body's warning signs. She was outside and she was free and she was not giving up now. The sound of gravel crunching just ahead of her made her panic. She looked around wildly and through a small patch of trees she could see a group of trash bins. She sprinted and dove behind them as soon as she reached them.

A silver car glided right past where she was hiding, heading up the road towards the house. Anya knew what it meant, the man was returning. He would find his front door wide open and search the house, starting with the basement. He would find her missing and he would come after her.

_"Try and escape again," He hissed in her ear. "And I will kill you."_

His threat made her shudder and as soon as the car was full out of sight, she made a dash in the direction it had come from. She ran and ran, tears blinding her as tons of thoughts raced through her mind at what could happen. The car could come barreling down the road and strike her, killing her instantly. He would find her, no matter where she was hiding, a gun in hand and point it right at her chest and pull the trigger.

Suddenly she stopped. Towering before her was a large house.

"It couldn't...," Anya trailed off as she walked right up to the front door. Behind her she could've sworn she heard a hysterical scream...one that contained such fury and anger it shook her. Trembling she knocked on the door, glancing over her shoulder to make sure the silver car was not coming at her, headlights shining right in her eyes...

The door swung open and Anya was face to face with a middle-age couple. They wore smiles on their faces, but the smiles quickly faded as they took Anya in. She realized her broken arm, dirty features, and disheveled clothing would immediately mark her as odd, but she shook her head.

"Please," She begged. Her voice came out cracked. "I-I need...help." For a moment the middle-aged couple just stood there and stared at her. Her heart stopped as she realized they were going to leave her out here to die. They wouldn't help her. They wouldn't.

"You poor darling," The woman suddenly cooed. "Come inside," She coaxed. Anya was drawn inside and the woman pulled her right into a room, away from the front of the house, including windows where she could be seen. The man disappeared from his wife's side and then reappeared and wrapped a blanket around Anya.

"What happened to you?" The man asked. The two stared at her expectantly and Anya swallowed the lump in her throat.

"M-My name is Anya MacPherson," She said, her voice shaking. The couple raised their eyebrows and she wondered if the name sounded vaguely familiar to them. "The man that lives right up the road from you. H-H-He kidnapped me."

X~X~X~X

**I think that's a good place to end it. So...she's free! But is this really the end? Most definitely not! Sorry it was another long update. **

**Read and Review please! **


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